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3 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

W. B. PL'ESS. SPUD GEARING POB. DREDGERS.

No. 533,739. Patented Peb. 5, 1895.

. vnorommo. wAsmxc- (No Model.) v l3 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. B. PLESS.

SPUD GEARING FOB. DREDGERS.

Patented Feb. 5, 1895.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

W. B. BLESS.

SPUD GEARING POR DREDGERS.

No. 533,739. Patented Feb. 5, 1895.

' UNITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

WILLIAM B. PLESS, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PLESS DREDGING AND RECLAMATION COMPANY.

-SFUD-GEdi-'UNG FOR DREDGERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,739, dated February 5, 1895.

n Application lecl June 6. 1893. Serial No. 476.738. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom may concern:

Be it known that l, WILLIAM B. PLnss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stock ton, in the county of San Joaquin and State of California, have invented 'certain new and useful Improvements in Spud-Gearing for Dredgers; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to dredgers, and, more particularly to means employed for moving the hull forward as the excavation is carried on 5 and the invention consists in an improved arrangement and construction of anchoring and pivotal spuds, in the novel construction of gearing for operating such spuds, and in certain features in their raising, lowering, and suspension.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby the operation of advancing the hull of the dredger may be performed with very little loss of time; and wherein the power of the engine .which operates the dredger bucket is applied to raise the respective spuds by which the forward movement of the hull is accomplished.

Another object is to utilize the dredger bucket in connection with the spud gearing, as a warp or anchor; and, by using the connections for swinging the boom, to swing the hull upon the pivot spuds by means of the resistance of such a warp.

My invention is fully hereinafter described, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of the hull of the dredger broken away, at, or a little forward of, amidships; the main deck being also broken away to show parts of the machinery below it. Fig. 2 is a side elevation broken away forward of the dredger mast, and also for a portion abaft the mast. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one of the spuds and its guides. Fig. 4c is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a top view of the same parts, the spud in cross section. Fig. 6 is a detail of the lifting and suspension device for each spud.' Fig. 7 is a plan view of one of the winding drums and friction clutches for each spud. Fig. S is an end View of the same, showing the brake. Figs. 9 and lO are diagrams which should be read together, showing the different positions assumed by the hull While it is being moved forward. Fig. l1 is also a diagram showing the hull as swung upon the port spud, and the connections from the mast and boom by which the swinging is accomplished.

The dredge herein described belongs to the so-called clamshell type, in which an excavating bucket is suspended by chains from a swinging boom or derrick the latter being movable laterally by means of chains connected to winding drums. The chains are connected to winding machinery operated by steam engines on the hull, and controlled by the operator.

The construction and operation of the dredging machinery, so far as the excavation and deposit of spoils are concerned, form no part of the presentinvention; and thus, while the boom or derrick is indicated in the drawings as well as the main winding drums, it must be assumed that these drums are connected by chains passing over the end of the boom to the dredge bucket; and that the 0perator can, by suitable mechanism, control the operation of this part of the machinery. To avoid obscuring the drawings, the details of these devices are not shown, and this explanation is only necessary because, in moving the bull, the bucket and connections for swinging the boom laterally are utilized, apart from their ordinary functions in a dredger.

A represents the hull of a dredger; B, the mast, and C the boom or derrick, (Fig. 2.)

D is the boiler and E the engines, of which two are shown, (Fig. 1,) giving motion to the engine shaft-F, from which the shaft G of the main winding drums H, is geared down by the pinions 1 and 2.

I is a shaft journaled in bearings in the longitudinal timbers or bulk-heads of the hull, below the deck. This shaft is connected by a sprocket chain 3, and sprocket wheels 4t and 5 to the engine shaft, preferably by a clutch 6, which is normally in engagement as shown, so that ordinarily, the shaft l will be constantly in motion unless steam is shut off. Mounted loosely upon this shaft are three drums, J, K, L, which, while the work of eX- cavation is going on, are stationary; but which can be engaged with the shaft by sliding ICO frietion disks J', K', L', feathered or otherwise secured to the shaft so as to slide upon and yet rotate with it. These disks are pref erably of wood, with beveled peripheries, 7, which wedge against similar wooden surfaces, 8, secured within the dished face of each drum, Fig. '7. Thus it will be seen that bya suitable system of levers the drums can be independently engaged with the moving shaft, l. These drums, through connections to be described, operate the spuds by which the hull is swung when moving it forward. These spuds are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and in further detail in Figs. 3, 4, 5, and (i.

Three spuds, M, N, and O are used, all of the same construction and operation and differing only in location. The spud M, at the stern, is simplyan anchor. The spuds N and O located at port and starboard respectively, and about, or a little forward of amidships, serve as alternate pivots upon which the dredge swings.

I first describe the spuds themselves, and then the connections to the drums and shaft by which they are operated.

Each spud is a piece of heavy timber hav-` ing a pointed lower end. It slides between guide timbers, P, (Fig. 3) firmly secured to the hull, and friction rollers such as 9 assist in giving it free motion. Near the upper end of' the guides and journaled in brackets or timbers, l0, is a sheave, 11. Below the main deck, and journaled in fixed bearings, in the guides and hull, are sheaves 12 and 13, by which the suspension chain or rope, 14, is guided to its appropriate drum, to which it is secured. Thus, in Fig. 1, the stern spud M is connected to the drum J, the port spud N to the drum K, and the starboard spud O to the drum L. The stern spud requires, of course, but one guide pulley at the bottom, being in line with its drum.

Now, referring to Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6, as well as Fig. l, it will be seen that the spud, (say 0,) is embraced by a loose clutch or band, Q. A bail, 15, is pivoted to this band, and the chain, 14, secured to this bail, passes up over sheave 11, then down around the guide sheaves at the bottom, and thence tothe drum, L. Now, if the friction clutch, previously de scribed, be thrown into engagement with the drum L, the latter will revolve and commence to wind up the chain 14. W'hen the strain comes upon the bail, 15, the band Q will assume the position shown in Fig. 6, will clutch the spud, and the latter will loe drawn upward between its guides. The weight of the spud and the strain upon the chain, combine to make the band bite into the spud and support it.

The details of construction described up to this point show that each spud is operated by a loose drum temporarily in engagement with a moving shaft. I now describe the connection by which the engineer, or other operator, is enabled to control the movement of these Spuds and thus swing the hull of the dredger.

The operators position is upon the main deck, aft of the mast and boom, and forward of the machinery. The friction clutches which control the drums for the spuds, are operated by pivoted levers, 16, Figs. 1 and 2,) placed close together. There are three of these levers which are connected by rods, 17, and forked bell cranks, 18, to the grooved sleeve, 19, (Fig. 7,) which forms part of the friction disk before described. Vhen either of the levers, 16, are operated, its friction clutch engages with its appropriate drum, and raises the proper spud in the manner before described. It is, however, necessary to retain the spud, or spuds, in raised position after the drum has wound up all the hoisting chain. l have therefore provided the hoisting drums with brakes, the action and connection of which are shown in Figs. 2 and S. The drums are formed with grooved peripheries to receive a band brake, 20. A link, 21, and rod, 22, connect this brake band by a bell crank, 23, to a treadle, 24. It will be understood that there are three of these treadles and conneetions, one for the brake on each drum. When the operator has raised any one spud, he throws out the friction disk with the hand lever, depresses the proper foot treadle, and holds the drum stationary against the weight ofthe spud, thus retaining the latter in its elevated position. I now describe the manner in which these spuds are operated to produce the forward movement of the hull, and refer to the diagrams 9 and 10.

'Vhen the dredger is at work, all the spuds are down, and the hull is anchored at three three points g--the boom, swinging in the act of discharging, as shown by dotted lines. lf I now desire to move forward, l drop the bucket perpendicularly upon the bottom, the boom extending forward upon the central longitudinal line of the hull. The bucket should be dropped with the jaws open as usual so that it may take hold of the bottom. The operator now raises, for instance, the star` board spud, then releases its friction clutch and sets its brake so as to hold the spud up. The diagram Fig. 11 shows the connections for swinging the boomlaterally. The pivoted mast has Secured to it a turntable R, from which jaws 25 extend forward to bear upon the sides of the boom. From the turn-table, chains are carried to drums 26, 27, which are assumed to be geared to thel driving power. Now as indicated by the arrow, strain is put upon the drum 26, which tends to swing the boom to starboard; but as the starboard spud has been raised, the resistance of the lowered bucket is so much greater than that of the hull, anchored by the. port Spud alone, that the hull is obliged to swing to port by the reaction of the lateral pull upon the bucket. The operator now eases the brake of the starboard spud and regulates the descent until its band, Q, strikes the edge of the deck and is thrown into horizontal position,letting the spud slip through and fall by its own gravity to, and into the bottom. The starboard spud then becomes the pivot. The operator raises the port spnd and holds it with the brake, then pulls on the Warp, (bucket,) by means of the drum 27 and swings the hull to the third position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l0, or, the required' distance ahead of the last limit of dredging. All the spuds are now dropped and the dredging proceeds until the transverse excavation has been completed. These maneuvers are performed with great rapidity as the different levers for accomplishing them are all grouped so as to be directly under the control of a single operator; and I ain enabled by gearing temporarily from the engine shaft while the dredging operations are suspended, to avoid the use of auxiliary power of any kind for placing my dred ger in proper position for Work.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a dredger having a swinging boom and a bucket suspended therefrom and connected to hoisting machinery, the method of advancing 'the hull, which consists in swinging said hull alternately upon vertically movable side spuds or pivots, by using the bucket as a Warp at each pivotal movement, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the hull of a dredger and vertical guides secured thereto, a spud sliding in said guides, a loose band or clutch surrounding the Spud, and asuspension chain connected to said band and to a drum for Winding the chain and permitting it to un- Wind, all constructed and arranged so that the band, descending With the Spud, will strike the hull and release the Spud, substantially as set forth. ,y

In testimony whereof I have affixed mysignature, in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of May, 1893.

WILLIAM B. PLESS.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE T. CLEVE, A. MOKENZIE. 

